One of my small pleasures is dancing. Dancing with no inhibitions, feeling the music and moving to the beat. Dance to anything with a beat… grooving to the music and having fun.

Several years back my mom introduced me to belly dancing and ever since I’ve been hooked!

Belly dancing is so special, every part of the body is used in the dance; there are so many intricate moves from the head spins and slides (like the classic genie side to side move) to flaring the hair in the air as if your totally on fire! I love the elegant, graceful, placement of the fingers, there are so many classic moves like snake arms and egyptian king tut poses and spins. Hip gyrations and belly rolls (these are real tough).

The outfits are fun to dance with, I love dancing with the veil, there are so many ways to make it look magical! You can dance with the veil and tell a story of a flying bird or running water or even turn it into a snake!

There are slight variances to the dance from culture to culture, like… the greeks have a very earth way of dancing, the turkish have delicate feet work, and in the arabic dance there are intense hip moves.

Another thing that I love about belly dancing is that when you dance among women there is no sexual tension and this allows you to freely express your feminine side in your dance. … and then ofcourse you can bring your new moves home and show them off to your honey by candle light.

Below are some videos of some belly dancers… they make the moves look so easy. I assure you if you see how long the videos run and you tried those hip lifts and gyrations for as long as they do… it can be tiring.

Belly dancing is an art and the more you practice the more graceful you can make the dance.

HOPE YOU ENJOY! cheers!

INDIAN BELLY DANCE:

TURKISH BELLY DANCE

ARABIC BELLY DANCE

MORE FUN BELLY DANCING

Daisy Says: Belly dancing is the discovery of the body and the connection of the soul.

Happy Hanukka.

Chanukah, (another spelling) the Festival of Lights, is observed for eight days, beginning on the evening of the twenty fifth day of the month of Kislev. This year, (2006), Chanukah starts at sundown, Friday, December 15th, and lasts for eight days thru Shabbat, December 23rd.

Chanukah is a wonderful holiday of renewed dedication, faith, hope and spiritual light. It’s a holiday that says: “Never lose hope.”

(image from fotosearch.com)

Daisy Says: Celebration is for all!